Foster kids

My heart has been wrenched lately and I feel a bit of a passionate post coming on.  I know, you frequent flyers to this blog are shocked(insert sarcasm).  Many of you are saying "Here she goes again, on a tangent, we know we know "orphans, materialism, and missions."  Sorry, no actually, I'm not sorry.  This isn't my soapbox, this is God's. You see, there are about 16,000 children living in foster care inTexas.  Followers of Jesus should be running to help this population.  I'd like to tell about some sweet kiddos to put meaning to the label "foster kids." My sister and her husband have fostered for 4 years.  I was over at her house yesterday helping with the newest baby.  So, this is all fresh on my heart.

They keep a 15yr old girl every once in a while to give her foster parents respite(Foster parents can only leave the children with approved and screened respite providers).  As you can imagine, this seriously limits outings without the children.  This young lady has been in foster care for 2 years.  Parental rights are terminated and she and her siblings are waiting to be adopted.  She has 3 other siblings. This sweet and quiet young lady is sad.  Her life stinks and my friends, it isn't fair!  She realizes that her younger siblings are likely not going to get a forever family to adopt them because of her and her older sibling.  Let's face it, how many people are willing to adopt teenagers?  This young lady told her caseworker to please let her and her older sibling age out of foster system, basically separting the older 2 from the younger 2, in order to give the 2 younger ones a chance for an adoptive family. Can you imagine aging out of the foster system?  Graduating from high school with no family to cheer you on?  Being a teenager is hard enough, but alone?

Then, there is sweet new baby A.  He is a week old and was born addicted to drugs.  He is perfect and tiny and beautiful. Here is his hand with my finger.

Baby A is going through withdrawals.  His birthmother made assinine choices that tragically affected her unborn baby.  Now, who knows where she is and this baby is shaking, screaming, and has chemical burns on his butt from excreting the drugs!

Then, there is this precious little fella. His bio family, well, that story is a doozy too.  My sis and her hubs would love to adopt him.  Unfortunately, the culture of the courts almost always thinks biology is what makes a family, not stability and love. 

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8

How can you help? Foster, adopt waiting children who are living in foster care, become an approved respite provider to give foster parents a weekend break--they really need this sometimes, or you can partner with great ministries in Texas like EMBRACE.  This ministry advocates for these children and helps kids aging out of the foster system feel supported. Also, teen foster kids need mentors. 

And, just to lighten the mood, here is Hudson and my neice, "A".  They both dressed themselves and looked ridiculous, but adorable all the same!